CRISTIANO RONALDO is refusing to agree a £13.1million settlement after the Spanish taxman took him to court.
The Real Madrid superstar's lawyers today claimed the sum demanded by prosecutors is "without foundation.. inconsistent.. easily removed by an objective observer". Spanish outlet El Mundo reports that the Portugal skipper is as defiant as ever and insisting he has done nothing wrong.
Ronaldo's legal team submitted his latest statement to a court in Pozuelo de Alarcon today.
The 32-year-old is accused of handing over his image rights to to a company in the British Virgin Islands to avoid paying tax in Spain.
That company is then said to have given the rights to two companies in the Republic of Ireland. When Spanish authorities suddenly tightened the law over image rights in 2014, Ronaldo paid them £5m - to represent all his five years in La Liga.
Ronaldo's lawyers say that his deals with Nike, Coca-Cola, Emirates, Castrol, Herbalife, and Tag Heuer are global and so he was right to declare them as income from outside Spain. Spanish prosecutors disagree.
Ronaldo actually believes he has paid MORE tax than should have.
His lawyers say only ten per cent of his image-right deals come from Spain. But the £5m lump sum Ronaldo paid in 2014 was based on that figure being 20 per cent. Ronaldo said after an earlier hearing this summer: "The Spanish Treasury knows in detail all my income, because we have given them. I have never concealed anything, nor did I intend to evade taxes.
"I always do my tax returns voluntarily, because I think we all have to declare and pay taxes according to our income.
"Those who know me know what I ask my advisors: to have everything up to date and properly paid, because I do not want problems.
"Those who know me know what I ask my advisors: to have everything up to date and properly paid, because I do not want problems.
"When I signed for Real Madrid, I did not create a special structure to manage my image rights, but I kept the one that managed them when I was in England."
Ronaldo is thought to believe the taxman is unfairly targeting him because of his celebrity and the fact he is one of the largest earners in Spain.
From The Sun
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